Winter Wildflowers

Seed capsules, tattered leaves, broken stems. The beauty of winter wildflowers is the beauty of ruins. Without leaves or petals obscuring the underlying form, structure takes precedence. We see the lines of force, the arch or flying buttress mandated by live weight and wind. We see the strength that makes possible the eye-catching delicacy of summer blooms.

Here's a small poem by the Greek poet Yannis Ritsos (1909 - 1990):

Τα χερια του αγγειοπλαστη
τα δικα σου χερια
πηλινα πραγματα
ευθαυστα
τι ωραια που καθρεφτιζουν
το αθραυστο

The hands of the potter
your own hands
earthen things
the breakable
so beautifully mirrors
the unbreakable

from Χειροποιητος / Handmade (1977)

Posted on January 21, 2017 04:17 AM by scottking